Seventeen
I’ve finally returned to my unofficial home, and I couldn’t be happier.
The second I make it to the bottom of the dungeon, I roll on the ground and lie in the fog, breathing in large heaps of the hovering mist. My body feels amazing as my chest rises and falls.
My bones expand and retract inside of my tiny little frame.
I hear a swift movement in the shadows and realize that I’m now able to hear Blue-Skin and other deliverymen. For the past hour, I haven’t been able to see further than thirty feet around me. As I rest in the cave, I can nearly hear into the secret passageways that lead to the Cavern of Youth.
Blue-Skin appears over me with a beaming smile.
I warmly declare, “You saved my life.”
“The bottle was Hades’ idea. He said you must come to see him today.”
“Cool, but you have to hide for now. We have company.”
Blue-Skin runs into a corner and disappears. Normally, I’d worry about my health, but after lying here for a few minutes, I feel a burst of energy in my bones and muscles that makes me feel like my old self.
The group turns down my pathway and continues walking at a snail’s pace.
A terrible sound falls on my ears that forces my body to sit up straight. I open both of my eyes to clearly see the men.
What’s this feeling? I want to kill them so badly.
Something etches across their armor that makes me hate everything about them. I despise their existence and urgently want them removed from this world. I know the sound of that evil and they’ve bathed in it. This detestable noise stays with people for an eternity. It’s the only perfume I can hear.
“Call her now,” one of the very powerful men demands. He’s a Hindu god; the other, Egyptian.
The Hindu is a Middle Eastern man a few inches short of six feet tall. He’s scrawny and quick. His hair is dark and bangs cover his forehead. His nose has been broken so many times, it cannot be repaired.
“My reception is garbage down here, and I’m not asking her any questions,” replies the Egyptian god that’s shorter than the Hindu, but I wouldn’t judge his power on size. His muscles are tense; he couldn’t flex them if he wanted. The sound reminds me of Helios’ flesh. His body most likely feels like Colt Stone.
The Hindu doesn’t smile or seem friendly, but the Egyptian grins from ear-to-ear with pearly whites. They’re wearing very futuristic technology that reminds me of something Helios’ company would create. The spacey tech completely covers their bodies in a shiny gray metal. They’re protected by the bulky material from their necks to their toes with the exact same color and style of armor. Yet, they couldn’t look more different. The Hindu seems smooth and elegant. The Egyptian resembles a nerdy and arrogant school teacher.
“Fine. I’ll call, but if we don’t find him, you have to tell her.” The Egyptian nods, but obviously doesn’t plan on doing that either. “Eve.”
On the other line she barks, “Don’t you ever say my name over the phone!”
“I apologize,” he replies nonchalantly. He was the proper person to call because he doesn’t scare easily. I imagine that Eve chose this guy directly. The other seems more like Helios’ type. “We’re under the school. Are you sure he stands guard in the dungeon? We’ve looked nearly everywhere.”
“Then look everywhere. What did the other gladiators say?”
“The four we killed?”
“Of course, you idiot.”
“They wouldn’t say a word, no matter how much Geb tortured them.”
“I sense one in this area,” Geb says, suddenly alert. “And we should turn around Mel.”
Mel shakes his head and they both stop in their tracks. They haven’t looked down yet, and I’m only five feet in front of them.
My blood boils at the sound of Eve’s voice. Just listening to her makes me want to kill something. Fortunately for me, I have two test subjects.
“It seems we may have one more to question,” Mel tells Eve. “I’ll call you once he’s captured. Maybe you could yell at him over the phone. You’re much more frightening than us.”
“Do I sound like I’m in the mood for joking? Get that damn arm.”
As Mel hangs up the phone, Geb turns to him. “Let’s go back. This guy’s on a different level than the others. Not to mention, he reeks with darkness—the kind you find in hell.”
“And? The others were still easy kills. Maybe we’ll fight him together this time.”
Geb tries for a bit more convincing when he removes his cell phone. He opens up an ammunition recognition program that can determine the strength of data. Turning it towards Mel he reemphasizes, “We need to prepare. That’s showing the power of a small militia and he probably doesn’t have his codes activated.”
Mel removes the phone from his hand and points the scanner in their direction. “Now it’s showing the power of a very large militia. Where do you sense him?”
As Geb meditates, I notice the two barcodes over his eyelids. They appear to be two green plants. “I don’t see him, but I could see a dark presence right in front of us. He’s close.”
“K. Your name starts with a K,” Mel declares with what resembles smoke tattooed across his neck. “Come out so we can talk to you.”
Standing up I reply, “About what?”
Both men jump back. Geb stammers, “How long were you there?”
“Talk about what?”
“Mel. He just came out of a shadow.”
Mel swiftly punches Geb, which manages to shut him up. “We’re searching for Dennis Colt. We’ll allow you to live if you can tell me how often he comes to this cave.”
“And I’m looking for Eve Payne. Where is she?”
“That is none of your concern.” Mel regains his composure and takes a more aggressive stance.
“I’m not interested in you. You’re not the type to talk,” I say coldly to Mel. I slowly turn my head to Geb. “But I have high hopes for you.”
Shiva converts into a mechanical glove that covers my entire arm. I haven’t perfected her yet, but this weapon places small vents on my elbows that converts my energy and substances from my surroundings. Then, the forces merge and expel destructively from my fists.
The trishulas on my elbows glow as Shiva begins absorbing fog. I have no clue what effect that will have.
A high pitched sound omits from their suits and they activate their barcodes. Mel fires a projectile from his chest that travels directly through my body. I wanted to test the power of the missiles, but they explode ten feet behind me. Interesting.
Geb follows through accordingly and plants a roundhouse kick on my arm. I hold Shiva up to defend my beautiful face. Unfortunately for him, his rough armor behaves like padding to defend against his blows. He’d be better off without it.
Swinging around his friend, Mel connects with a hook to my cheek. Both men shine their barcodes intensively. An onslaught of bright and colorful projectiles release from their suits. The sound of the explosions announce the damage I receive.
I roll on the ground and flip up in an attempt to regain my balance.
These two aren’t taking chances.
In a flash, they close in to finish the job. Both men attempt to land strong finishing moves—one on my spine and the other on the back of my head—but their punches land on an empty ground. They seem disappointed.
“Is he turning into a shadow?” Geb asks with a smile.
“It seems like he can travel through the darkness.” Mel increases the energy surging through his barcode. “It looks like I finally get to go all out.”
“Damn. I wouldn’t have warn armor if I knew someone was this strong. He’s blocking my punches without rubbing his arm.”
“You say that now, but the first guy definitely would have killed you if you weren’t wearing it. And don’t even think about taking it off. Helios said you have to wait until training’s over.”
Forty feet directly in front of them, I yell, “Though thi
s may seem like an excellent time to talk about your clothing choices, I’d like to finish this up, ladies.”
They concurrently rush towards me.
With two men approaching me at once, I don’t want to use a gentle fighting style like Muay Thai. I shift to a Southpaw stance to gear my counter attack towards Mel. Placing my rear foot on its toes, I worry if he’s quick enough to capitalize on the weakness in this fighting stance. If he’s willing to reach for my solar plexus or groin, it’s all over.
I prepare to disappear in the darkness just in case he goes for a low kick, but both men remove heavy hand guns from their armor. Stupid.
Before Mel can raise his, I lunge towards him while spreading my legs. As I grab his wrists, he fires a shot between the open space.
Geb attempts to take aim at my head, but I swiftly move to Mel’s right side and force his right arm and the gun against my body. Geb has to refocus. Before they can blink, I take one large step back and raise Mel’s gun into the air, forcing his hand and elbow behind his back while angling the gun at the ground.
Because the suit is mechanical, it isn’t able to change speeds quickly enough. The gears assist me in snapping his arm when I use Mel’s momentum to throw him to the ground. Still holding his right hand, I drag Mel along with me, consciously moving fast enough to avoid the scope on Geb’s weapon. Mel never screams or moans, but accepts his coming fate.
Pressing my knee against his back and yanking the gun from him, I jab the steel against his cranium and release three shots. Quickly, I vanish into the shadows.
I dash behind a rock and drop the gun because Shiva’s getting upset. Geb becomes infuriated at the sight of his dead comrade. With his better judgment clouded, he chases after a faint sound in the darkness. Using his rage against him, I sneak around to attack from behind.
When Geb notices me, it’s a bit too late. He’s unable to raise the heavy gun fast enough, so he drops it and swings at my face with his right hand.
Instead of defending against the entire blow, I use my short size to block his punch from his shoulder. As he swings widely, I direct my attack near his deltoid, wrapping my arm around his. Shiva releases a wicked pressure that nearly dislocates his arm. It causes him to freeze for a split second.
I step on Geb’s bent leg to quickly climb on his back. While pressing small daggers from Shiva’s wristband into his neck, I twist his right arm and secure my legs underneath his armpits.
I flip us both on the ground. Now I have his neck wrapped with my legs. I’m not only breaking his arm, but wrenching and tearing the muscles.
Geb screams from the pain as I sit up to nail down his other arm with a short blade that Shiva just provided me with. Leaning back I interrogate him by screaming, “Why does Eve want Dennis’ arm? Say it or I’ll do this for hours.”
Not providing him with time to recover or answer, I twist his arm and tighten my legs around his neck. Once I’ve caused just the right amount of pain, I release him and grab the blade. Ferociously, I drag the small sword through the ground and his flesh, which slices his bicep in half.
I convert Shiva into a gun and aim at his legs. Geb cries, “Please. Please. No.” He wants to hold his arms, but neither moves at his command. He wails from the pain. He’s probably never suffered from so much damage; he’s not used to this type of agony. “Please,” he sputters.
I fire four more shots into his legs. “I’m not patient enough for this. Speak through the pain or I’ll keep going until you bleed out.”
“She!” He shouts in a swarm of tears, trying to get any word out that he can. “She wants his arm because his son cut off hers. She and Helios have been working nonstop to get her an arm, but none are strong enough to merge with her body. Helios believes that a really powerful barcode could solve the problem and Dennis has the best one.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” Shiva omits a humming sound as I provide her with energy. “I don’t know! I don’t! Please stop. Please!”
“Sure.” I shoot Geb in the head three times. “Let’s go Blue.”
Leading the way, I hop into the shadows, zip through the rocks, and dash between the two boulders that I could hardly squeeze in during my first trip. I’m able to stay in the shadows until we make it to the bridge.
Blue-Skin and I reappear, and calmly walk across.
“It’s just awkward to see you follow me without speaking.” He doesn’t respond so I blurt, “Get it off your chest.”
“I’ve seen you kill many intruders, but this was different. Merciless. Even your fighting style changed.”
“I’ve done far worse to many more.” My words cause him to flinch. “Now, I’m not the type to try and cheer people up, but I’d never turn against you if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Would you turn against your friends?”
“Depends on the situation.”
“Then you could turn against me.”
“Point taken. And that’s exactly why I’m not good at cheering people up.” Walking away, I mutter, “Ready?”
Blue-Skin follows behind me into the infinitely long room. We continue until we’re on the shore of the cavern. This time, the Daughters of Danaus don’t grab my feet, but I hear a faint sound behind me. I know I should continue to Hades’ place, but I open my eyes to hear and see things more clearly.
Light reflects off the surface of the water more brilliantly than it does with diamonds. The women coax, Okodemah. Where are you going? Yeah! Drink us please. Your lips are gorgeous. Your body is too when you’re big.
“How did you see me before the bandages?”
We can travel through the fog too.
“I’m supposed to keep the bandages on for two years. I won’t be growing anytime soon.”
We can make you big this time. She’s right. We’ve been working on it and I think we have it down pat. Yes. Give us a sip Okodemah.
The temptresses make a tough bargain. Blue-Skin squints as I bend down to the water at the shore. It gently reaches to my face and creeps behind my neck. The water feels life-like. It reminds me of Carmen’s gentle hand.
Without warning, Hades appears behind me. The brute vehemently wrenches me from their grip. My feet dangle over the water as it stretches towards me.
Several voices cry, Put him down Hades. Yes. We just want to kiss him again. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, right? Shiva releases a few bolts of electricity. One reaches the water and many voices shout, Ouch!
Hades advises, “Hey, you’ve survived one drink, don’t push your luck.”
As he places me on the shore, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“I told you, those witches poisoned their husbands. You never know when the water will turn against you.”
We’d never hurt Okodemah. We promise Hades. When do we ever make promises? Just let him take a sip and we’ll be nice to Zeus the next time he comes. Kind of.
“No. I can’t risk having my prized fighter hurt. I’m only giving him water made from the fog from here on out.”
“Wait,” I interrupt. “Why only the fog?”
“It’s boiled down and filtered.”
“You mean the water comes from here?”
“Yes. We get our water from the bridge room, but you can’t drink something that hot. So, if there’s another emergency, I’ll get you fog water. It takes time though. The one I sent you was my own personal stash.”
“How long?”
“Four months. Why?”
“Think you can get me a batch for finals?”
Hades joyfully replies, “Oh yes.”
In unison, the women yell, That’s not fair Hades! Just let him drink us.
“Absolutely not. I can never tell when you’re in a good or bad mood.”
It’s okay, we can make the fog extra thick for Okodemah. Let’s start now. It’ll take a while to get the old stuff cleared out. Be ready Okodemah, we’re going to make you really strong. You better come thank us. It was such a good id
ea to come here with Hades.
Hades taps me on the back twice and motions for me to follow. “It’s a long walk, but you’ll be fine.”
Blue-Skin rubs his arm while stammering, “Master, he can travel through the shadows.”
“Who?” Hades asks with a skeptical expression. Blue-Skin gestures towards me. “Really? Who taught you that?”
Massaging my shoulder I reply, “You did.”
“You learned it just by watching?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t look like yours, but I can ride the frequency of shadows.”
Seemingly amused, he breaks out into an increasingly loud laughter. “But darkness has no frequency. It is nothing. You can’t measure velocity from nothing.”
“That’s the scientific theory, but I do it.”
Hades turns into a large circular shadow that spins at an alarming rate. He chuckles while bellowing, “Follow me.”
Using the darkness his shadow omits, I ride the waves down his path. We climb over walls and swing around trees. We even zip across a river nearly two miles long.
Within seconds, we’re standing in front of a magnificent building. There isn’t a single stone that’s missing from this structure. The brown bricks that were used to complete this haven’t been in style for centuries. I’ve only seen images on computer archives of something this marvelous.
The front of the structure is twenty percent stained glass. It looks like a library, which makes me not want to enter. But I could observe the flowers and grass that grow on the building all day. Hades laughs at my amazement as we walk up the ninety steps leading to the front door.
“Welcome to my home.”
“Man,” I say while dragging my feet through the front door. Between my fight earlier and trying to keep up with Hades, I’m spent. The beads of sweat falling at my feet are proof. “If you plan on killing me, this is a great place to do it.”
Hades slams the large door shut and removes his shoes. I almost do the same, but he waves his hands and gestures for me to follow him. “Do you always assume that people will kill you?”
“Yeah.”
The big man laughs loudly enough to make the walls rattle. Then, he covers his mouth. “Persephone’s normally home at this time. We have to be quiet.”
“Are you serious? You’re married to someone named Persephone?”
“Don’t you read kid? Of course.”
He does his best to quietly tiptoe across the wooden floors, but they creek the entire way.
The doors in this place are huge. The furniture and pictures on the walls are ancient, but nothing matches. There are times I see Hindu rugs next to a Mayan sculpture, which look pretty authentic. Then, there are American photo frames next to a Mexican flag.
“You’re well traveled I see.”
“We all are. Z especially, but he prefers collecting women. I’m satisfied with the mantles on the wall. I saw the things Hera does. She’s spiteful when he goes poking the family jewels in anyone.”
“That’s more than I wanted to know.” I don’t mind this guy calling himself Hades, but the fact that he’s married to Persephone, his brother is “Z”, and his sister-in-law is Hera takes things a bit too far. I’m afraid to continue following him. I may meet other delusional “gods” that want to make me bow down to them or offer a sacrificial lamb.
Once Hades opens the door to his pitch-black basement, he seems more relieved. Playfully, he rolls down the two hundred steps before crashing into his wall below. I decide that walking would be better.
By the time I get to the bottom, he’s already playing classical music, “O Fortuna” by Carl Orff in Carmina Burana, on his surround sound and smoking two cigars. He hands me what looks like the more flavorful one.
Spinning it around with my fingers, I ask, “Why is the wrapper red?”
“Can’t tell you, but take a seat.” As I draw the smoke into my mouth and sit down, he smirks. “You’re going to piss fire when you’re done with that one, but I promise there isn’t a cigar that’s finer.”
“Why’d you bring me here? And where did Blue-Skin go?”
“You still call him that? I wish I knew his real name. I have so many deliverymen and keeping up with them is difficult. I find myself giving him more tasks because he’s the only one I can remember. I feel stupid yelling Blue-Skin, but he joyfully responds.” Hades grunts, “The others get jealous.”
The massive sized man heard my question, but refuses to answer. He brought me here to avoid what he wants to talk about.
“We’re friends, right Okodemah?”
I lean back in my reclining chair and watch the smoke as it waves to the ceiling. In spite of all the space on the upper floor, Hades’ basement is compact. There’s only enough room for two chairs, a television, and large speakers.
He must have an infatuation for wood because the room is covered with it. Nothing matches in here either. This place is old, but Hades hardly looks fifty. A middle-aged man is asking an academy student if they’re friends. Strange guy.
After a bit of consideration, I reply, “You can say that.”
“Good, but we’re not.” I sit up in my seat. “We’re not enemies either; you have enough of those and the numbers are only increasing.”
“So what are we?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I asked if you thought we were friends.” Hades puts out his cigar, coughs up something nasty, and spits it in a trashcan. “Anyway, I’ve been wanting to show you something, but I don’t know how to present this to you.” He rubs his chin and appears serious. “Let’s just say, we’re business partners. I need you well taken care of because you make me lots of money.”
“Glad I can help out.”
“But I also like you and hate to see you get hurt. I want you to know that your brother is planning to kill you.”
“Nice.”
“I assume you would have done something spectacularly stupid by now if you’d known. Your hearing must be faulty. Rumor is, your ears get around.”
“That makes them sound slutty. Thanks! And they do. But these bandages are stupid strong and reduce their range.”
Hades leans over to a counter right next to his chair and says, “Well, I’m going to show you a date that Monte and Angie went on and you can see things for yourself.”
“How’d you get a video of something like that?” I inquire with a grin.
Without responding, he pushes play and the paper thin television comes on with a crystal clear display. The image is even Layered 3D—the television provides an inch of texture in width when it’s activated.
Monte and Angie are walking the trails of Griffith Park.
Once upon a time, the area was all grass and it led to the Hollywood sign. Now, buildings surround it, but there’s a small tunnel that takes them into a hidden space between the skyscrapers and the mountain. Monte would take me there when he was having a bad day. He never said a word. He’d just sit and stare at the starless sky.
“What are we doing here?” Angie asks after Monte finds a seat on the ground. He leans his back against a rock that I think he shaped to be more comfortable. Then, throws his hands behind his head. Angie sits in the dirt with her legs folded, yoga-style.
With an accusing tone, Monte inquires, “Where’d you go last night? After you dropped me off at my dorm.”
“What are you talking about?”
Monte makes a ticking sound under his breath before sitting up straight. “How stupid do you think I am? I thought we were supposed to be a team, but you got high and mighty with this superior thing. You might even take it too seriously.”
“Kode started it.” Monte looks away and Angie analyzes his face. “What?”
“I think he’s the only thing on your mind, whether he’s around or not. You and I are here, and we’re both dying without him, but he’s all you focus on.” Monte lights various parts of his tattoo. “Do you love me the way you love him?”
Angie gasps, but doesn’t say a word. The moo
nlight swims through her eyes.
“Monte.”
“I love you though. Like that.” He takes a deep breath as a smile breaks across her face. “But you two would sneak around without me like I didn’t know. Like you did last night. Just because I can’t hear everything doesn’t mean that I don’t know what’s going on.” The ticking sound returns. Monte’s annoyed now.
Angie sits on her knees and folds her arms neatly in her lap. “I felt Kode’s blood in the hallways and I went to see if I could find it. I only saw Kay.”
“Doing what?”
“He was crawling out of an elevator and running down the hallway to Casey’s old classroom.”
“But it’s empty now.”
“That’s what I thought too, but he reached under the floor that leads to the dungeon and there was a bottled water there. I was kind of going crazy at the time and I might have smashed the glass in his hands. But the water turned to fog and he breathed it in.”
“Fog. Like the kind in the dungeon?”
“It didn’t look as thick.”
“I wonder what that was about.” Monte grumbles while looking into the sky. “Wait. Why were you going nuts?”
Angie twists her face and scrunches her eyebrows. Rubbing her bottom lip, she confesses, “I saw his eyes.”
“That’s a big deal because...”
“It means he’s not Kode. His eyes were black, like Blake’s. Pitch black. He’s really blind.”
“You actually thought he was Kode?” Angie looks away and Monte bursts into laughter. “What? Kode just shrunk all of a sudden?”
“His blood was black! I just thought the bandages did it.”
“Bandages should take off a little girth, but not that much.” Angie looks away. She growls at the air playfully while bearing her fangs. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“You and those weird faces,” Monte teases. As Angie pokes her finger in the dirt, he utters, “So now you can kill him.” Angie doesn’t flinch. She continues drawing circles in the sand. “You think he murdered Kode. I don’t know if you’re right or not, but it’s something only you can feel. If that’s what you think, kill him. I doubt your father would object. If Kay reminds him of Kode, he’ll want the little guy dead too.”
She grabs a heap of dirt in her hand and asks, “Okay. Then what?”
“You’ll really do it?”
“Do you have an actual plan?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what?”
“I think the professors will use him to help us find the Cavern of Youth. If he has special hearing, or what not, it’ll be easier. Once we find the documents we need, we’ll kill him and do the same to the professors.”
Angie stops pouring the sand, but doesn’t seem too shocked. With a calm tone, she asks, “Why would we kill them?”
“This academy and arena are just as crooked as they say Helios is. Do you know how many people they’ve had me kill in the past three months?” The tone in Monte’s voice changes. It sounds threatening. Dangerous. “Guess.”
“Twenty.”
“Higher.”
“Seventy.”
“Higher.”
Angie squints and slowly asks, “Is it in the hundreds?” Monte shakes his head. “Thousands?” He nods swiftly. “Where?”
“Mexico. Dubai. Brazil. Back home, Georgia, Tennessee, Washington, and Colorado.”
“Why were you in Georgia? There’s nothing but desolate land there.”
“Scoping things out. They wanted to confirm that there’s a research lab away from the beasts. I found one, but not the one they needed. They’ll probably use Kay for that. I don’t think they’ll find anything though. Once they’re at another dead end, they’ll send me halfway across the world to kill more people that they can’t.”
“You’re saying we have to kill them to end this?”
“Yes,” he says while standing. “I’m tired of wondering if the people that died are innocent or not. I know Gardezi, Jules, and Gonzales aren’t. We can stop them.”
He walks over to help Angie up. She smiles and dusts off her butt. Nervously, Monte takes a step closer to her. She doesn’t move away, but glances up at him. As he slowly lowers his head, she looks into his eyes with tears. Monte holds her tightly before kissing her on the cheek. They seem stiff.
Mechanically, he inches over to her lips. Initially, she resists, but they share a gentle kiss that relaxes both of them slightly.
Holding hands, they walk back into the tunnel. As they stroll down the long stretch of road, Monte asks, “Are you in?”
“The professors, I don’t know.”
“But Kay?”
“Finals. Maybe Malik too.”
Hades turns off the television and rubs the tips of his fingers together. He scratches his dry face and bites his thumb. He’s actually worried about me.
I, on the other hand, grin from ear-to-ear. Under my breath, I mumble, “That’s my girl!”